


The Treehouse

by marichatting



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Angst, Break Up, Childhood Friends, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, and post-hotdog, luke vs dating the whole band, pre-hotdog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29791905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marichatting/pseuds/marichatting
Summary: The boys of Sunset Curve practically grew up in the treehouse in Luke's backyard. All of their memories were there- including the beginnings and endings of relationships.AKA: a series of scenes that take place in or are related to Luke's treehouse.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Luke Patterson
Comments: 14
Kudos: 33





	The Treehouse

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my friend Aster (aka [@lukestreehouse](https://twitter.com/lukestreehouse) on Twitter) for being the CEO of Luke's treehouse and for coming up with most of these scenarios! I hope I fit everything you wanted into it!! (P.S. I promise I'll start my homework soon)

When Luke was just five years old, his dad built him a treehouse in the backyard. Luke, of course, was thrilled about having a treehouse of his own, and he was determined to help his dad build it so that he could play in it as soon as possible.

“What should I do?” he asked, wearing a pair of protective goggles his mother had made him wear, a crooked hard hat on his head, and denim overalls that had to be rolled up so he wouldn’t trip over them.

Mitch looked down at him and chuckled. He crouched down next to his young son and straightened the hard hat on his head.

“You can go back inside and help your mom with the cookies,” he suggested.

Luke pouted. “But I wanna help with the treehouse,” he complained, the “r” sound coming out as a “w.”

Mitch chuckled again. “I know, Lukie, but your mom really needs help with the cookies. There’s just one treehouse, but there are  _ so many _ cookies to be made.”

“You go help with the cookies,” Luke argued. “I wanna do the treehouse.”

Mitch laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think so, kiddo. If you really wanna help, go help your mom with the cookies, like the big kids do.”

Luke perked up. “Big kids help with cookies?”

“Oh, all the time,” Mitch assured him. “Baking cookies with Mom is something every big kid does.”

A smile lit up Luke’s face. He was missing a front tooth. “Okay! I’ll go help Mama, then, ‘cause I’m a big kid.”

“That’s my boy,” Mitch beamed. He patted Luke on the hard hat and watched fondly as the young boy scurried inside to help his mother. Then, he smiled and shook his head as he got back to work on the treehouse.

***

Luke met Reggie two years after his treehouse was built, when they were seven years old and he spotted Reggie talking to bugs on the playground instead of playing with any of the other kids. Luke, who was always looking to make new friends, ran right up to him and started excitedly talking about a cartoon he had seen that morning. The rest was history.

Luke brought Reggie to his treehouse for the first time six months after they became friends. He was very protective of his treehouse, and he was very particular about who was allowed inside. Reggie was the first person outside of his family who had ever been granted access.

“Wow,” little Reggie beamed as the two of them reached the top of the ladder and entered the treehouse. He looked around, his eyes wide, and grinned. “This is  _ amazing!” _

Luke grinned. “My dad built it for me.”

“Wow,” Reggie said again. “I wish  _ my _ dad would build me something. Your treehouse looks like fairies live here!”

Luke smiled. “I think they do. They just like to hide.”

Reggie’s face lit up. “Let’s look for them!”

They never found the fairies, but they still knew they were there- the magic of the treehouse was just keeping them hidden.

***

When Luke and Reggie were in the fourth grade, a boy their age named Alex moved in next door to Luke. The three of them became fast friends, and after three months, Luke and Reggie agreed that it was time to bring him up to the treehouse.

Alex didn’t exactly pride himself on his grace or coordination, but he didn’t think it would matter- that is, until he fell from the top of the ladder the very first time he tried to climb into the treehouse.

His arm was broken, but his spirits were, thankfully, still intact. His friends didn’t care that he was a little clumsy or that he had embarrassed himself by falling from the ladder- they just cared that he was okay and that they got to sign his cast before anyone else in their class did.

A while after Alex’s arm healed, he finally attempted the ladder again, this time taking extra care to hold onto the rungs every step of the way. And Luke and Reggie made sure to wait on the ground while he went up so that, if he did fall, they could catch him.

Once he reached the top, Luke and Reggie excitedly climbed up after him to welcome him to their treehouse.

“Yay!” Reggie giggled, clapping his hands together. “You’re officially part of our treehouse club now!”

Alex smiled. He had never been in a club before, but he thought he might like this one.

And every time Alex entered the treehouse after that, Luke and Reggie climbed up behind him just in case they needed to break his fall.

***

The three of them were like an exclusive club for two years after that. They spent hours in the treehouse having sleepovers, playing games, and eating copious amounts of pizza and ice cream. At some point in the fourth grade, they started making up songs in the treehouse, writing them down in crayon, and choreographing them to perform for Luke’s parents. They quickly discovered that they loved making up songs together.

On Alex’s first birthday after joining their so-called “treehouse club” the three of them celebrated with a sleepover in the treehouse.

“We should do something special,” Luke insisted. “This is your very first birthday since you moved here. Let’s do something to remember it!”

“Like what?” Alex asked.

“I know!” Reggie exclaimed, running to his backpack to retrieve something. He pulled a paint set out of it. “I brought this with me in case we wanted to paint. Let’s paint something on the wall!”

Luke grinned. “Awesome, great idea!”

Together, the three of them did a small painting on the wall featuring lightning bolts, flowers, ladybugs and butterflies (courtesy of Reggie), a guitar, and more. And at the center of it all were their initials and the date, so they could remember that day forever.

“There!” Luke said proudly once it was done. “Now we’ll always have this painting to remember today.”

Alex smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

***

The next person to be allowed into their treehouse club after Alex was Bobby. Luke met him in music class in the sixth grade, and since Bobby was new to the school and didn’t have any friends, Luke invited him to join them for lunch. The four of them quickly became a close-knit group, and they invited Bobby to the treehouse a month later.

“Welcome to the treehouse club,” Reggie beamed proudly as Bobby entered for the first time. “This is a big deal, okay? We only let super special and important people into the club.”

Bobby grinned. “Awesome, thanks! This place is so cool!”

“Hey!” Luke exclaimed. “Since you’re part of the club now, let’s paint your initials on the wall!”

Bobby furrowed his brow. “Why?”

Luke pointed at the wall where their initials stood. The mural had grown since it was first painted, since the boys had added onto it on Alex’s second birthday after joining the group. “We painted all our initials on the wall on Alex’s tenth birthday,” he explained. “Let’s add you!”

“Okay!” Bobby smiled. He took the paintbrush Reggie offered him and added his initials to the wall, along with the date.

“Now you’re  _ officially _ a member of the treehouse club,” Reggie grinned. “That means we’re a family, and we’re gonna be friends forever!”

***

On Alex’s next birthday, they once again celebrated by adding onto their little mural, deciding to make a tradition out of it. Alex thought it might be his favorite thing in the entire world. Nothing made him feel as special as his three closest friends celebrating his birthday together by adding onto their treehouse mural. He loved his friends, and they always went out of their way to make sure he knew that they loved him, too.

Of course, they celebrated everyone’s birthday. But Alex was the only one they celebrated this way, and it meant the world to him. They were his family, and he never wanted to be separated from them.

That was part of why he was so excited when, in the seventh grade, they decided to start a band together. Alex already knew how to play the drums and Luke the guitar, so they agreed that Reggie would learn bass and Luke would teach Bobby guitar so that they could all play music together. And Alex was thrilled at the prospect of making music with his best friends for the rest of their lives.

***

Things started to change around that age. The other guys started to show an interest in girls. Alex could appreciate girls, of course; they were pretty and they smelled nice, but he didn’t really understand why Luke, Bobby, and Reggie only ever wanted to talk about girls lately.

“Hey,” Bobby said one night at a sleepover. “I have an idea: let’s each invite a girl to come up here with us, and if they all want to come, we can play spin the bottle.”

Alex scowled. “Dude, no. Only the most important people are allowed in the treehouse, remember?”

Bobby rolled his eyes. “Come on, man- we’re not eleven anymore. That’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Alex said defensively. “I just don’t want any girls coming up here and ruining the treehouse club.”

“No one’s gonna ruin the treehouse club,” Luke assured him. “This is our special thing for life, okay? And nothing’s gonna change that, not even a few girls.”

“So, spin the bottle?” Bobby asked again.

Luke shrugged. “I’m down if the girls are.”

Reggie nodded excitedly. “Yeah, sounds fun!”

Alex, seeing that he was outnumbered, sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine. I guess it could be fun.”

The girls they asked all agreed. Luke, Bobby, and Reggie had each had their eye on a specific girl for a while, and they weren’t exactly lacking in self-confidence, so the girls easily agreed to come over.

Alex, on the other hand, didn’t have a crush on anyone. He couldn’t even think of a specific girl who had caught his eye at all. So, he just ended up asking a girl he barely knew from his English class. She was pretty and had nice hair, so he decided he must like her. That was all it took, right?

The next weekend, the eight of them went out for pizza and then went back to Luke’s house to climb up into the treehouse to play the game.

It was weird having the girls in the treehouse- at least to Alex. They weren’t part of the club, and they had never had non-club members in the treehouse before. Wasn’t that weird? He still didn’t really get why girls were more important than the club, but maybe he would get it if he had kissed a girl before. All the other guys had, after all- maybe that was why they liked girls so much.

Alex had his first kiss with a girl during spin the bottle that night. It was quick and soft and fine, he supposed. But he still just didn’t get the big deal about it. Why were the other guys so obsessed with girls? And why was he different?

***

Alex only talked to the girl he invited once or twice after that. Bobby went on two more dates with the girl he brought before it fizzled out, Luke dated the girl he invited for two months, and Reggie dated the girl he brought for the rest of eighth grade, until she broke up with him before leaving for summer camp.

That didn’t stop the three of them from talking about girls, though. It was like every time they were together, they just wanted to talk about which pretty girl they had talked to recently or which girl they should ask to the school dance or which girl they should invite to watch them rehearse. (Bobby was  _ always _ bringing girls to rehearsal. Ever since they got the hang of it and figured out what they were doing, he thought it was the most impressive thing in the world, and he practically had a different girl come over to watch every week.)

Alex still didn’t really get the hype. Sure, girls were cool, and they were fun to hang out with, but what made them so much better than guys?

***

Freshman year was when Alex realized that things had  _ really _ changed. At least in eighth grade they had only let anyone outside of their group into the treehouse once, and they were still all together for it; but one night in the ninth grade, Alex looked out his bedroom window at Luke’s backyard and saw Luke climbing up into the treehouse accompanied by someone who definitely was not Bobby or Reggie.

Alex froze when he recognized Abby, a girl from the science class he and Luke were in together, climbing up the ladder behind him. As far as he knew, the night they had played spin the bottle was the only time anyone outside of the club had ever been into the treehouse. But now, all of a sudden, Luke was bringing a girl into the treehouse alone? What the hell? That was supposed to be  _ their _ special hangout spot, not a place for him to bring his dates.

Alex swallowed and turned away, an unpleasant feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Anger, maybe? He sighed and shook his head. He might be a little annoyed, but to be fair, it was  _ Luke’s _ treehouse, not his, and he had a right to bring whomever he wanted into it.

So what was this feeling in his stomach? It felt familiar, he just couldn’t place it. It almost felt like… jealousy.

But jealousy over what? The date? Abby was cool, but Alex didn’t like her like that. So why would he be jealous over their date?

***

Luke dated Abby for a few months, and Alex just couldn’t seem to get that little jealous feeling in his stomach to go away whenever he saw them together. He couldn’t even explain it- he knew he didn’t want to date Abby. And he was still best friends with Luke, so it wasn’t like she was replacing him in any way. So what reason did he have to be jealous?

After they broke up at the end of freshman year, Alex couldn’t help but feel relieved. Maybe this feeling would finally go away, and he wouldn’t have to feel it again or keep wondering  _ why  _ he was feeling that way.

But then, when they were sophomores, Luke and Bobby started dating.

“We both like girls  _ and _ guys,” Luke explained to Alex and Reggie when he and Bobby told them they were together. “Like Bowie.”

“Cool,” Reggie grinned. “Bowie’s awesome. I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thanks,” Luke said, giving him a relieved smile. “It means a lot to me that you’re okay with it.”

“Of course we are,” Reggie assured him, then turned to look at Alex. “Right, Alex?”

“Of course,” Alex nodded, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in his spot sitting with his legs crossed on the treehouse floor. “Yeah, of course we support you. I’m happy for you.”

The first part was true, of course, but the last part, not so much. He was glad that his friends trusted him enough to tell him about their sexuality, and he wanted to be happy that they were happy together, but he just couldn’t.

Because seeing Luke and Bobby together just brought that feeling of jealousy right back, but more intense than before. Seeing Luke hold another boy’s hand made Alex’s stomach  _ burn _ with jealousy.

And suddenly, he realized why he had never understood the hype around girls.

***

The next few months were hell for Alex. After his realization, he noticed that a lot of things started to make a lot of sense. Like why he was never all that interested in girls, and why he felt jealous whenever Luke was dating someone, and why his heart got all fluttery anytime Luke got too close to him. Suddenly, he understood so much more about himself.

But he couldn’t bring himself to talk to the guys about it. What if they asked how he realized? What if they figured out how Alex felt about Luke, and everything fell apart?

Alex didn’t want Reggie to have the burden of keeping this secret, he didn’t want Bobby to know he had a crush on his boyfriend, and he  _ definitely _ didn’t want Luke to know about his feelings for him. So, he kept it to himself.

But not being able to talk about any of it was awful. Especially when he had to see Luke and Bobby holding hands or cuddling while they all watched a movie together. Or when the two of them snuck away from rehearsal and Alex just knew they were up in the treehouse making out.

Once, Alex saw them in the treehouse through his bedroom window. Luke was playing something on his guitar, and when it ended, Bobby kissed him. After a moment, Luke pulled back and said something to him, and they climbed down from the treehouse and ran out of the yard. Alex watched as they got into Bobby’s car and drove away, and he idly wondered where they were going, but he didn’t give it too much thought. After all, they were on a date. It was a boyfriend thing. And  _ Bobby  _ was Luke’s boyfriend. Not Alex.

***

Bobby broke up with Luke during the second semester of their sophomore year. Luke was devastated at first. The night it happened, Alex and Reggie sat in the treehouse with him while he cried on Alex’s shoulder.

Band rehearsal was difficult for a few weeks after that. It was awkward and tense, and Luke and Bobby couldn’t communicate the way they used to.

One evening shortly after the breakup, Alex looked out his window and saw Luke sitting in the treehouse by himself, looking out at the sky. He watched him for a minute or so, but Luke didn’t do anything; he just sat there.

After a minute, Luke turned his head and noticed Alex watching him. He waved, and Alex waved back, trying to fight down a blush and pretend he hadn’t been staring at him.

Luke gestured for him to come over, and Alex smiled. He rushed down the stairs of his own house and ran next door to the treehouse.

“Hey,” Alex greeted him. Luke was sitting in a chair next to the bookshelf he had built the previous month. He loved reading, but he didn’t like for it to conflict with his “cool guy in a rock band” aesthetic, so he kept his book collection hidden away in the treehouse where only Alex, Reggie, and Bobby knew about it. “How are you?”

Luke shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

Alex glanced around. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Luke said. “Just looking at the sky. It’s pretty.”

Alex looked out the treehouse window at the sky, painted with streaks of orange and pink as the sun sank down below the horizon. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It is pretty.”

Silently, Alex sat down in the chair next to Luke. He could tell Luke was still hurting over the breakup, but he also knew that if Luke wanted to talk about it, he would. Right now, all he could do was sit there and be there with him.

After a long few minutes of silence, Luke let out a soft sigh. “I really liked him, y’know.”

Alex glanced at Luke, but the brunet’s gaze was still fixed on the sky. Alex looked back out the window and nodded. “Yeah. I could tell.”

Luke reached out for Alex’s hand. He had always been a very cuddly person, and ever since they were kids, they had always held hands for comfort. But Alex hadn’t held hands with him since his realization, and now it just felt… different. But Luke had no way of knowing that. He had no way of knowing what he was doing to Alex as he gently stroked his thumb across Alex’s hand and leaned his head on his shoulder while they watched the sunset together.

***

Reggie sniffed, lying in his bed in the middle of the night. His parents were downstairs yelling at each other, as usual.

They had never really had a great relationship, but in the past two years or so, things had just gotten so much worse between them. They clearly hated each other and were just staying together “for Reggie,” even though Reggie was the one who was suffering because of them.

Finally, when it was clear that that night was going to be yet another sleepless night of lying awake and listening to his parents fight, he shook his head and climbed out of bed. He wiped the tears from his face and changed out of his pajamas and into regular clothes, quickly packing a small overnight bag of just the necessities. Then he climbed out of his bedroom window and down the tree next to his house, got on his bike, and rode away down the street.

He didn’t exactly have a plan, so he just went to the first place he thought of: the treehouse. He hid his bike in the bushes, silently climbed up the ladder, and eventually fell asleep curled up in a chair by the window.

***

Eventually, things improved between Luke and Bobby. Both of them moved on, and they became friends again. Band rehearsal actually became fun again.

Alex’s birthday came again in August, six months after the breakup. However, when the day came, Bobby was grounded for sneaking out to go to a party, and Reggie’s parents had made him go out of town for a family member’s wedding- which meant that Luke was the only member of the group who was with Alex on his seventeenth birthday.

It didn’t matter, though. They still stuck with the tradition; they went up into the treehouse to add onto their mural, which had grown considerably over the years. They talked and laughed as they painted little designs on the wall.

“Almost out,” Luke said at one point when they were close to running out of the paint they had poured onto a plate for use. “I’ll grab some more.”

He went to the other side of the room and retrieved a small bottle of paint to put some more onto the plate. As he was walking back toward Alex, though, he tripped and fell into the blond, accidentally spilling a huge glob of paint right down the front of his shirt.

Alex gasped as he looked at the paint dripping down his shirt. “Dude.”

“Oh, shit,” Luke said, his mouth hanging wide open. “I’m so sorry. I can pay for a new shirt.”

Alex grinned and grabbed his paint brush. “Yeah, you’re gonna pay, all right.” He reached out and swiped the brush across Luke’s cheek, leaving a stripe of paint behind on the brunet’s skin.

Luke’s face quickly shifted from apologetic to shocked to excited. “Oh, so  _ that’s _ what we’re doing now? Fine. Bring it on, Mercer.”

Alex grabbed another small paint bottle as the two of them began running around the treehouse chasing each other with the bottles and their brushes, each apparently determined to ruin the other’s clothes.

Finally, after a long paint war, Luke tackled Alex, and both of them went tumbling down to the floor. They both laughed and sat up, looking at each other for a long moment.

“Thanks for painting with me,” Alex said softly.

“Of course,” Luke replied. “I’ll  _ always _ paint with you, Lex. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

They didn’t get up, still just staring at each other, not able to pull their eyes away.

“Can…” Luke whispered, his gaze briefly darting down to Alex’s lips. “Can I kiss you?”

Alex swallowed hard, his heart racing, and nodded.

Then, at long last, Luke closed the distance between them and softly kissed Alex, his hand gently cupping the side of his face.

It was Alex’s first real kiss- with no bottle on the floor and no girl on the other end of it- and it was magical.

***

Luke and Alex started dating after that, just a few weeks before junior year started. For the first couple of weeks, they kept it a secret- but other than that, everything was perfect. Alex felt as if he was in one of those coming-of-age movies where the main character finally starts dating the perfect person.

“Are you gonna tell the guys?” Luke asked one night while they were cuddling together in the treehouse.

Alex paused a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I- I think so. Soon.”

“And your parents?”

Alex swallowed hard. “I think I’ll probably tell them after Reggie and Bobby. I think- well, I hope- they’ll be okay with it, but just in case… I’d rather tell the guys first.”

Luke nodded and gently stroked his hair, giving him a soft kiss on the top of his head. “Just remember that you don’t  _ have _ to tell them if you don’t want to. My parents don’t know that I like guys. But no matter what happens, I’m here for you.”

Alex looked back at him and smiled. “Thanks, Luke.”

***

That first night that Reggie snuck out and slept in the treehouse eventually turned into several nights. Soon enough, Reggie was sleeping in the treehouse almost every night.

He didn’t say anything to the other guys. They knew his parents weren’t exactly in a great place in their marriage, but they had no idea just how bad things had gotten. And he didn’t want to worry them.

So he just kept his mouth shut and remembered to sneak back out of the treehouse every morning before the Pattersons woke up.

***

Alex took a deep breath and looked up at Bobby and Reggie. “I’m gay.”

Bobby raised his eyebrows. “Oh, wow. Um, thanks for telling us.”

“We support you, Lex,” Reggie smiled at him.

“Thanks, guys,” Alex said, letting out a sigh of relief. His heart was racing, and he felt as if a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.

“So,” Reggie wiggled his eyebrows at him. “Have any guys caught your eye lately?”

Alex laughed and felt his face heat up. “Actually, um…”

Luke reached out to hold Alex’s hand, grinning at their friends. “We’re kind of dating,” Luke said for him.

“Wow,” Bobby said again and smiled at them. “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled.

Reggie’s eyes went wide. “Luke, that means I’m the only one in the band you haven’t dated.”

“Yeah, probably because you’re the only straight person in the band,” Bobby reminded him.

“Well, I wouldn’t go  _ that _ far.”

Luke and Alex exchanged a glance, and Bobby raised his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t?”

Reggie waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Conversation for another day.”

***

A week after he told the band, Alex came out to his parents. It didn’t go as well as he had hoped, but at least they didn’t kick him out or threaten to send him to therapy or anything. But he could tell they were disappointed. He didn’t even tell them about Luke.

It didn’t matter, though; the band was his family, too, and they still loved him. He started spending most of his time with the band just to stay out of the house and avoid his parents’ judgement. They would go out to eat, go to the movies, go to the mall, rehearse, write music, paint each other’s nails before shows, and have sleepovers in the treehouse after every performance.

But, as Alex would soon learn, all good things must come to an end.

“Where have you been all night?” Alex’s mother demanded as he walked in the front door the morning after a sleepover.

He faltered a moment. “Um, I slept over at Luke’s. I thought I told you that.”

“You didn’t tell me you weren’t going to be in the  _ house,” _ his mom fumed, his dad standing beside her with his arms crossed. “I called Emily last night, and she said you were outside. With no supervision! What on Earth were you doing out there with those boys?”

Alex’s mouth was hanging open as he looked at her. “I- we were just hanging out. We played Monopoly and ate pizza.”

His dad scoffed.  _ “Monopoly,” _ he repeated. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

Alex furrowed his brow. “Look, I don’t know what you think is going on, but-”

“What  _ exactly _ is your relationship with Luke Patterson?” his mother demanded.

Alex froze. “I- um.”

She shook her head. “That’s what I thought. You are  _ not _ spending the night there anymore.”

“What?!” Alex exclaimed. “But, Mom, I- he’s my best friend! We have sleepovers after every show, the whole band, and-”

“Oh, don’t even get me started on that  _ band _ of yours,” his father cut in, rolling his eyes. “I thought you would grow out of that years ago.”

“I’m not just gonna  _ grow out  _ of my music, Dad.”

“Fine. But you’re not going to waste your life, either, and certainly not with some boy. You’re not spending the night at the Pattersons’ anymore.”

“But-”

“You can be there during the daytime,” he continued, ignoring Alex’s protests. “But  _ only _ when Emily or Mitch are home, and  _ never _ alone with Luke. And you have to stay in the house with the adult supervision. No treehouse.”

“What? But-”

“End of conversation, Alex,” his mother said dismissively.

Alex huffed and stormed up to his room, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself down onto his bed. He buried his face in his pillow and let out a frustrated scream that quickly turned into a sob.

***

Since Alex was no longer allowed at the Pattersons’ house alone and his parents wouldn’t even allow Luke in the door, they didn’t have much time together anymore except in the car between home and school- but even then, Reggie and Bobby were usually with them.

It was annoying for Alex not to be able to have any time alone with Luke. He had spent months hopelessly pining over him, and then they got just a few weeks of happiness before his parents decided to take it away.

He huffed as he sat at the desk in his room, working on homework. He was frustrated with his parents, but he couldn’t even do anything about it. Right now, he figured he should just be thankful they hadn’t made him quit the band yet. If he wanted to escape further punishment, he had to keep his head down and do what they asked of him.

Suddenly, a knock at his window snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Luke’s face grinning at him through the glass, and he rushed to open the window.

“What are you doing?” Alex hissed, glancing back to make sure his bedroom door was closed.

Luke had climbed up the trellis leaning against the side of the house, and he pulled himself up through the window when Alex opened it. He balanced himself on the window sill and smiled softly at Alex. “I missed you.”

Alex’s heart melted at the words, but he scowled. “What if my parents catch you?”

“They won’t,” Luke assured him. “I’ll be super quiet.”

Alex paused and crossed his arms. “I’m doing homework. I can’t talk right now.”

“I already said I’ll be super quiet,” Luke reminded him. “Go do your homework. I’ll just hang out with you while you do it.”

Alex huffed and rolled his eyes fondly, then went back to his desk to work on his assignment. Meanwhile, Luke flopped down onto Alex’s bed and grabbed a stuffed bear from next to his pillow.

“This is cute,” he said, holding up the bear. “What’s its name?”

Alex felt his face heat up in embarrassment. “Beddy Teddy.”

Luke smiled. “Cute.”

Alex rolled his eyes and went back to his homework, but it didn’t last long. Luke, as it turned out, was not very good at staying quiet and entertaining himself. Soon enough, they ended up on Alex’s floor playing a board game, both struggling to contain laughter as they playfully trash-talked one another.

After a while, Alex heard footsteps coming down the hall, and his eyes went wide. “Someone’s coming,” he hissed.

Quickly, Luke scrambled back out onto the trellis, and Alex followed him to the window.

“Luke, wait,” he whispered.

Luke paused and looked back up at him. “Yeah?”

Alex smiled and leaned out the window to press a quick kiss to his lips.

Luke grinned and resumed climbing down the trellis, and Alex closed the window just as his father opened his bedroom door with a suspicious look on his face.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked, looking down at the board game on the floor. “Why is that out? Is someone here?”

“No, it’s just me,” Alex lied, then turned on the guilt tripping. “I was just playing a board game against myself, since I’m bored out of my mind now that you won’t let me see my friends.”

His dad rolled his eyes. “You  _ can _ see your friends, just not-”

“Not without adult supervision,” Alex finished for him. “Yeah, I get it. But Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are out of the house a lot, Reggie’s parents don’t like having people over, and Bobby’s basically always grounded, so what am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, Alex,” he snapped. “But we don’t want you hanging around with that boy without someone watching you.”

“I’m seventeen,” Alex reminded him. “I can take care of myself.”

His dad scowled. “You’re a child. So go ahead and play your little board game and try to guilt me into letting you break the rules, but it’s not going to happen.”

Alex’s father stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

***

Luke started waking up earlier than he used to so that he and Alex could leave for school early and have a few extra minutes together. One morning, he was getting ready for school when he realized he had left his homework up in the treehouse the previous afternoon, so he ran outside to get it.

When he got into the treehouse, though, he was surprised to see Reggie curled up asleep in a chair.

“Reg?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

The boy startled awake, and his eyes widened at the sight of Luke. “Luke. Um, hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

Reggie paused. “I…”

“Did you sleep here all night?”

Reggie let out a breath and hung his head. “Yes. Please don’t tell Alex or Bobby.”

“I won’t,” Luke assured him, crouching down next to him to look him in the eye. “But why aren’t you at home?”

Reggie shook his head. “My parents won’t stop fighting,” he finally confessed. “They’ve been keeping me up at night, so… I started coming here to sleep.”

“How long has this been going on?” Luke asked softly.

Reggie sighed. “A few weeks, I think.”

Luke reached out to hold his hand for comfort, and Reggie looked up at him.

“I’m sorry your parents suck, Reg,” Luke said, his voice quiet and gentle. “You’re welcome to use the treehouse whenever you need to. Or, if you want, you can just come to my window, and we can have a sleepover.”

Reggie smiled. “Thanks, Luke.”

***

For the first few weeks of Alex and Luke’s relationship, everything felt perfect between them. Alex was finally out to his friends, and he was dating the guy he had been crushing on for months. Even though his parents didn’t take it well, it was still great.

But soon enough, the thrill of his first relationship began to wear off, and the spark between them started to fizzle out.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Luke, because of course he did- but he was starting to think that maybe he liked him as a friend more than as a boyfriend. They were best friends, of course, and he loved hanging out with Luke, but their personalities just weren’t a good match romantically.

So, about three months after they started dating, Alex broke up with Luke.

It wasn’t a big deal. Luke had felt it fizzling, too. He had known for a while now that they weren’t going to last much longer. But still, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad over it.

He missed having someone to hold his hand. He missed those nights at the very beginning when everything was perfect, when Alex was still allowed to see him and they would just sit in the treehouse together and look at the stars through the window.

He sighed, sitting in the chair he used to sit in with Alex, and looked out at Alex’s bedroom window. Even though he knew their relationship was never going to work, he couldn’t help but feel a small pang of longing in his chest. For just a moment, he wished Alex would come to his window, smile at him, and gesture for him to come climb up to his room again.

But he never did.

***

Luke ran away from home about a month later. Bobby let him stay in the studio at his house, so at least he had a couch to sleep on and a roof over his head. But he couldn’t help but miss his own bed and the treehouse in his backyard.

A couple of months after he left, he went to the house after school while his parents were still at work and climbed up into the treehouse for the first time since that night. He breathed in the familiar scents of the treehouse he had practically grown up in. He went over to his secret book collection and slowly ran his finger across the spines of the books. They had been collecting dust sitting out here with no one to read them.

He had to sneak out of the treehouse soon after he got there to avoid his parents finding him, but that day wasn’t the last time he visited. Every now and then, he would sneak back into the treehouse with his guitar and his journal, just so he could write music in a place that felt like home.

***

One day during the summer after their junior year, the four of them were sitting in the studio and talking excitedly about the upcoming school year.

“We’re gonna be  _ seniors, _ guys,” Reggie beamed. “It’s gonna be so cool!”

“Man, I can’t wait to graduate,” Luke grinned.

“Same,” Bobby agreed. “I can’t wait to get out of here and go to college.”

Luke shook his head. “Nah, not me. I’m not going to college.”

“I am,” Alex said. “I was just filling out applications yesterday.”

Reggie furrowed his brow. “Already? Isn’t it kind of early for that?”

Alex shrugged. “I wanted to get a head start. I’m really looking forward to getting to move out and go somewhere exciting for school.”

“Where are you looking at going?” Luke asked.

“I have a few schools in mind,” Alex said. “I don’t have a solid plan yet, but some of them look really,  _ really _ cool in the brochures. I’m gonna schedule some tours to take in August.”

“That’s really cool,” Luke smiled at him. “I’m glad you’ll be able to get away from your parents soon.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

They were all silent for a few minutes before Reggie spoke.

“Y’know…” he said, his voice quiet. “This’ll be the first time in, like, seven years that we won’t be adding to the mural for Alex’s birthday.”

The mood quickly turned somber.

“We wanted to do something special this year,” Luke said softly, looking up at Alex. “Since you’re gonna be eighteen. It’s a special one, y’know, so last year, Bobby and I came up with this whole plan for, like, a super elaborate design with-” he cut himself off in the middle of the sentence and hung his head. “But then I ran away and fucked it all up. I’m sorry.”

“Luke,” Alex said gently, reaching out to hold his hand for comfort. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about me.”

But the whole group couldn’t help but feel sad over their broken tradition.

***

That same summer, Luke snuck back into the treehouse late one night in July. Once inside, he lay down in the middle of the floor like he used to when he was a kid and stared up at the star stickers on the ceiling.

Tomorrow night, they were playing the Orpheum. It was the biggest thing that had ever happened to them. They were gonna be legends.

So, he wanted to come back to his treehouse one last time before everything changed for him. After all, this treehouse was where the band was formed. It was special to him- to all of them.

He almost wished he could thank it. It had practically raised him and his friends. And now, thanks to all the songwriting they had done in this treehouse, they were going to play their dream venue and have all of their dreams come true.

***

It took a long time for Emily to be able to bring herself to go back up into the treehouse.

She hadn’t been up there since Luke was little, since- according to him- no girls were allowed. After he left home, she knew she should go up there and clean out his things, but she just kept holding out hope that he would come back one day. So she didn’t touch his bedroom or the treehouse, wanting to leave everything exactly the way he left it for when he returned.

But he never did.

After she lost him for good, she couldn’t bear to change anything he had touched. She didn’t go in his bedroom for months, and she certainly didn’t go in his beloved treehouse.

But at some point, she realized she was starting to lose even the phantom of him that existed within her mind. She remembered his face, of course, but only twisted into that angry scowl he used to look at her with in those last few months. She remembered his voice, but instead of his laugh or his singing, she remembered it in the form of yelling.

She had already lost so much of him- including Luke himself- and she couldn’t bear to lose those final wisps of him that she still had. So, a year after he died, she finally forced herself to climb the ladder to his treehouse.

She looked around at the room, swallowing down a painful lump in her throat. There were so many pieces of him up here that she had never even seen. A detailed mural on the wall that the boys had clearly painted themselves; all of Luke’s favorite books neatly arranged on a shelf; several notebooks full of old, abandoned songs; paint splatters in odd places that looked like the remnants of a distant paint fight; a few empty beer cans stacked in the corner; several dusty board games; bottles of nail polish; empty pizza boxes; an empty glass bottle on the floor.

She picked up a polaroid lying on the coffee table and sighed. It was a picture of Alex kissing Luke on the cheek- and suddenly, she wondered if there was more to their relationship than she knew.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she looked at the picture. He looked so happy there- it was a far cry from any expression she had seen on him when he talked to her in those last few months before he left. There was so much of Luke that she never got to know. She wished he would’ve let her in more, or that she would’ve been more open to his dreams. Maybe then, he would’ve told her more about his life. Maybe she would’ve known about whatever might have been going on with Alex. Maybe, just maybe, the boys wouldn’t have…

She kneeled on the floor in the middle of the treehouse, hugging the polaroid to her heart as she let out a sob. She wished she could have known him while he was alive, but now that he was gone, maybe she could start trying to fit the pieces together. And she could start out here, in the treehouse he had always loved so deeply.

***

Twenty-five years. That’s how much time had passed when they finally showed back up in Bobby’s- well, Julie’s- studio.

Luke visited his parents a few times after coming back as a ghost. They seemed sad, even after all this time.

But it wasn’t until a few weeks after he came back that he was able to bring himself to go up to the treehouse. He hadn’t expected it to still be there, but for whatever reason, they had kept it all this time.

It was clear that no one had been inside of it for years. It was covered in dust, and there were bugs and spider webs everywhere. But all of his things were still out here where he left them. All of his memories, all of his dreams- they were still intact, preserved here like artifacts for the past twenty-five years.

He sighed and sat down on the floor, breathing in the air. It smelled different now, not like he remembered. He had just been here what felt like the previous night, and yes, everything was in the same place, but still- it all felt different.

“Luke?” a voice said, startling him. He turned to see Reggie’s head poking into the treehouse, his eyes sad. “Are you okay?”

Luke deflated and looked down at his lap. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’m fine. I just… wanted to come see it again.” He swallowed and looked back up at Reggie. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” he said, fully entering the treehouse and sitting down in front of Luke. “You seemed sad earlier today. I was worried.”

Luke sighed. “I just miss it, I guess. Y’know- life.”

“Which part?”

Luke shrugged. “All of it. Playing clubs every weekend, our pizza nights with Alex and Bobby, even my parents- I just miss it all.”

Reggie nodded sadly. “Me, too.” He reached out and took Luke’s hands in his. “But at least the three of us still have each other. And now we have Julie, too.”

Luke looked into his eyes and smiled, gently squeezing Reggie’s hands. “Yeah. We’ll always have each other.”

Reggie smiled softly, then furrowed his brow as something behind Luke caught his eye.

“What?” Luke asked, turning around. He faltered when he looked at the wall behind him.

Their mural. It wasn’t the way he remembered it. It was… complete.

His breath hitched. It was exactly what he and Bobby had planned for Alex’s eighteenth birthday before Luke ran away. The birthday they didn’t survive to see.

Slowly, he stood up, walked forward, and gently brushed his fingers across the old, peeling paint. He felt a tear slip down his cheek. Bobby had done some shitty stuff after they died, sure- but clearly, he wasn’t entirely bad.

He had finished Alex’s mural for them.

***

“Where are we going?” Julie asked as the phantoms guided her forward, Luke’s hands over her eyes. “What if someone sees me?”

“No one’s gonna see you,” Luke assured her. “They left. They shouldn’t be back for a few hours.”

“Who?” Julie asked. “Where are we?”

“We wanna show you something,” Alex said. “Just trust us.”

When they finally arrived, Luke uncovered Julie’s eyes and gestured in front of her. “Ta-da,” he said proudly.

She raised her eyebrows and looked up at the treehouse standing in front of her. “What is this?”

“It’s my treehouse,” he explained with a smile. “We used to hang out up there all the time when we were, y’know, alive.”

Her face softened. “Really?”

He nodded. “Come on. Let’s go on up.”

The four of them climbed the ladder up to the treehouse, and Julie smiled as she looked around at it.

“Wow,” she said softly. “I can almost imagine you guys hanging out up here back then.”

“Yeah,” Luke said softly, looking around fondly at the small room. “My dad built it for me when I was little, and we all spent basically all of our time out here. We have a lot of memories in this place. And, hey, you’re standing in the room where Sunset Curve was formed.”

She giggled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “And the room where I had my first real kiss.”

“With who?” Julie asked.

Alex shrugged. “Just some annoying dumbass.”

Luke scowled. “Hey!”

Julie put the pieces together and laughed. “Wow. I guess you guys really do have a lot of memories up here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Luke smiled. He smiled over at Reggie and took his hand as the other boy smiled back at him. “This was basically our home.”

“Yeah,” Reggie said, then turned to look at Julie. “But now  _ you’re _ our home. Welcome to the treehouse club, Julie.”

And when they left, a new set of painted initials that read “J.M.” had joined the existing ones on the mural.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment with feedback and/or a request! Thanks!
> 
> Find me on Twitter: [lukesreggies ](https://twitter.com/lukesreggies)  
> 


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